Chapter 82

Hank Cooper nodded thoughtfully.

"You're right. Let's go with the second plan."

His brow furrowed. "But most of these people are defenseless celebrities. Taking them on a rescue mission would be suicide."

Lucy White had already considered this. "The three mercenaries can stay behind to protect everyone. Ethan and I will go with you."

"Just the four of us?" Hank lowered his voice. "The kidnappers probably have guns."

Lucy smirked. "Don’t forget what I do."

"Aren’t you just a celebrity?" Hank looked baffled. Did she have some secret identity?

"I'm also a metaphysician." She winked. "Using metaphysical arts, fewer people means better stealth."

Ethan Smith volunteered, and Lucy, having seen his skills firsthand, agreed immediately.

"Fine." Hank made up his mind. "We won’t tell the others?"

"Right. No need to cause panic," Lucy agreed.

Suddenly, she asked, "The livestream signal is down?"

Hank sighed. "We lost connection this morning. Even the backup transmitter failed."

"There must be a signal jammer on the island," he added.

Lucy had an idea. "I’ll restore the livestream. You guys figure out how to send a distress signal."

"That way, the kidnappers won’t get suspicious," she explained.

Hank’s eyes widened. "You can bypass a jammer?"

"Piece of cake," Lucy said confidently.

Hank stared. "..."

"Restoring the livestream would be ideal," he hesitated. "But the four of us won’t be on camera..."

"Just say the signal is unstable and only one camera is working. We’ll make an excuse about looking for food," Lucy had it all planned.

"Brilliant!" Hank gave her a thumbs-up.

Just then, Michael Johnson approached.

"What’s going on?" he asked sharply.

Lucy quickly filled him in.

"That’s just our luck!" Michael was stunned. "I’m coming with you."

"No," Lucy refused. "You have a more important job."

"What job?"

"Keep the others occupied with the livestream. Make some noise," she said with a cryptic smile.

Michael frowned. "I don’t like leaving you alone."

"Listen to me or not?" Lucy glared.

"I’ve gotten stronger. I can handle myself," she added.

Michael reluctantly gave in. "Fine. How do I cause trouble?"

Lucy lowered her voice. "Make things difficult for Lily Green. Ideally, get her hurt."

"Just her?" Michael was surprised.

"Having second thoughts?" Lucy raised a brow.

"Of course not!" Michael denied quickly. "I just don’t get why her."

Ever since wearing Lucy’s talisman, he hadn’t been controlled by that strange force again.

Lucy explained, "I noticed she left markings yesterday, exposing our location."

"She’s working with the kidnappers?" Michael was shocked.

Hank’s expression darkened. "Traitorous bitch!"

Ethan stood calmly to the side, clearly already aware.

"We don’t have all the facts yet. No need to tip them off," Lucy reasoned. "Just keep her distracted."

Michael nodded. "Got it."

The affection in his tone made Hank glance between them curiously.

"Make it look like an accident," Lucy reminded. "Don’t let her contact the kidnappers again."

She didn’t want Michael slipping back into his old ways.

"Don’t worry, I’m not that stupid," Michael said, sounding wounded.

As the others emerged from the cave, Lucy approached the cameraman.

"Let me try restoring the livestream."

The cameraman skeptically stepped aside. "Go ahead."

He didn’t think a celebrity could fix professional equipment.